Sole straightener for shoes



June 1954 P. SALZMAN SOLE STRAIGHTENER FOR SHOES Filed July 3, 1953JTTORNEY Patented June 8, 1954 2,680,258 SOLE STRAIGHTENER FOR SHOESPaul Salzman, Montreal, Quebec,

Canada Application July 3, 1953, Serial No. 365,879

Claims.

This invention relates to shoe holders or socalled trees by means ofwhich a pair of shoes or boots are supported in such a hold the solesafter the shoes Certain types larly those used other winter sports,become wet after continued use and to maintain the shoes in proper formit is desirable that the shoes be held or supported in a manner to keepthe sole portions of the shoe flattened. It is therefore the primaryobject of the present invention to provide a simplified and improvedmeans by which a pair or shoes will be held in a manner to insure thesoles of the shoes remaining flat.

It is another object of the invention to provide a device of thisvarious sizes; which can be made of non-corros'ive metal to avoidrusting; which can be made light in weight and thus readily carried inlug.- skiing or sport equipment of withstanding hard use. p

With these objects, and other objects to be hereinafter set forth inview, I have devised the arrangement of parts to be described and moreparticularly pointed out in the claims appended gated strip ofnon-corrosive metal such as aluminum or aluminum alloy. At one end ofthe strip I, and which will herein be referred to as the lower end ofthe strip, is provided a pair of heel grips, indicated respectively at 2and 3. Each of these heel grips includes a fiat plate portion 4 disposedflatwisely against a face of the strip I, and a hook portion 5,terminating in the upturned flange 6 provided with a notched edge asindicated at I. This notch I is shaped to fit 'slidably moved withrespect to -2 around the rear edge of the heel of a shoe 9 and to enterthe depression I 0 in the heel as cornmcnly provided in so-ca'lled 'skiboots, and as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The two plate portions 4 of the heel grips are connected together by anadjustable clamping screw II which is slidable in an elongated,centrally positioned, slot I2 provided in the strip I. Beyond the lowerend of the strip I, the two heel grips 2 and 3 are joined together as bya depressed rivet I4, welding or by other means. Thus, by the connectionestablished by means of the screw II and by the rivet II, the two heelgrips are connected together as a unit and when the strip I, they areaccordingly moved together. The above" described arrangement is suchthat by loosening of the screw I I the two heel grips may be movedlongitudinally of the strip I, the screw I I moving along in the slotI2. When the heel grips are properly positioned for a pair of shoes ofthe required size, the screw II is tightened and the heel grips 2 and 3are thus located in a fixed position'from which they will not have to beagain shifted until shoes of accommodated by the device.

Means is provided at the opposite or upperend of the strip I forengagement with the front or toe ends of the soles I5 of the shoes.Secured to the opposite faces of the strip I are U-shaped supportingbrackets indicated respectively at I6 and Il. Pivotally mounted by thepivots I8, in each of these brackets, is a plate I9 having lugs 20through which the pivot pins I8 pass. On its rear face adjacent to itsside edges, the plate is provided with sleeves or sockets 2'I In whichis anchored the legs 22 of a substantially U-shaped toe clamp or finger23. Adjacent to its upper edge and at its rear face, the plate I9 isformed with a pair of sleeves or socket members 24 into which the endsof legs 25 of a loop-shaped handle member 26 are pivotally mounted. Aswill be noted from Fig. 2, these legs 25 are provided with elbows or aresharply bent as indicated at 21. A protective wear plate or sheathing 28of steel or other hard metal is fitted over the upper end of the strip Ito prevent abrasion of the surface of the strip I, which might be ofrelatively soft metal as heretofore pointed out.

From the foregoing, the operation of the improved shoe holder will bereadily understood. The heel grips are adjusted to the proper positionby sliding them along the strip I as required, the grips being guided inthis sliding movement by ears 29 and 30 provided on the strip I, and bya diiferent size are to be the engagement of the screw II with the slot[2. When the proper position of the heel grips is secured, the screw 1 Iis tightened. The front end of the sole of the shoe is inserted underthe clamp or finger 23. This can be readily done by pivotally movingeach of the plates if! to the positions shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2,while the handles 25 are extended outwardly as also shown in dottedlines in that figure.

After the forward ends of the soles of the two shoes have been insertedunder the clamps or fingers 23, these clamping elements are moved intoclamping positions by pivotally moving the plates H! to the positionsshown in full lines in Fig. 2. The plates [9 and the clamping fingers 23rigidly carried thereby, are then looked in the clamping positions byswinging the handles 26 to the positions shown in full lines. It will benoted that when the handles are disposed in these positions, the handlesare brought flatly against the strip l and the bends or elbows 21 in thelegs of the handles are so disposed that pivotal movement tending toswing the clamping fingers handles and the fingers 23 are thusmaintained in their locked positions to hold the shoe flatly against thestrip I and thus hold the soles of the shoes in the required fiatposition to enable them to dry while retaining their required shape.

When the parts are in the clamping position as above described, and asshown in full lines in Fig. 2, the loop portions of the handles projectabove the upper end of the strip l and thus permit the device, with itsshoes attached, to be easily carried by the handles or else suspended inany suitable manner.

The shoes are released from the device by swinging the handles 26 to thedotted-line positions of Fig. 2, whereupon the plates l9 and attachedfingers 23 can be readily pivoted outwardly to release the forward endsof the shoes and the shoes then readily detached from the device.

Having described one embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that thesame is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover allstructures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. A shoe holder comprising a flat strip, a heel grip arranged on eachface of the strip and slidably adjustable thereon longitudinally of thestrip, a toe clamp arranged on each face of the strip, each clampconsisting of a pivoted member adapted to take over the front end of thesole of a shoe rested flatly against a face of the strip,

and a pivoted handle member for each toe clamp, said handle memberserving to lock the toe clamp in its clamping position.

2. A shoe holder comprising a metal strip, adjustable means at one endof the strip for engaging the heels of a pair of shoes arranged onopposite sides of the strip, toe clamps adjacent the opposite end ofthestrip for engaging the front ends of the soles of the said pair ofshoes, each of said toe clamps consisting of a pivoted member having ahandle pivotally attached to it, said handle being movable to a positionto lock the pivoted member against pivotal movement when said member islocated in its shoe-retaining position.

3. A shoe holder as provided for in claim 2, wherein each of the handlesis in the form of a loop extending beyond one end of the strip, and thetoe clamps each include a loop which takes over the forward end portionof the sole of the shoe.

4. A shoe holder comprising, a flat, elongated metal strip slottedlongitudinally adjacent to one of its ends, a hook-shaped, heel-engaginggrip disposed on each face of the strip, a set screw extending throughthe slot in the strip and connecting the heel grips together, each ofthe grips including an upturned, hooked end formed with a notched edgefor engagement with the heel of a shoe rested flatly against a face ofthe strip, toe clamps arranged adjacent to the opposite end of thestrip, each of said toe clamps including a bracket, a plate pivoted inthe bracket, a toe-engaging loop attached rigidly to the plate andextending beyond the plate to engage over the toe end of a shoe sole, ahandle pivotally attached to the plate, said handle being offset fromthe plate to thereby provide a locking means for holding the plate inits clamping position while the handle is disposed in a certain positionrelatively to the strip.

5. A shoe holder comprising a flat metal strip having heel grips at oneend and toe clamps at its opposite ends, each of the toe clampsincluding a bracket, 2. plate pivoted therein, a loopshaped shoe-soleengaging finger carried by the plate, and offset loop-shaped handlepivoted on the plate, said handle being shaped to constitute a lock toprevent pivotal movement of the plate when the finger thereon is inengagement with the shoe sole and the handle is positioned adjacent tothe strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

